Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

The SIU Unity Council

The SIU Quality Council was created in 1998 to enrich the work-life environment at the School of Medicine (SOM) and SIU HealthCare (HC) for employees and learners. In simplest terms, the Council wants to make the School a better place to work. Its members are volunteers from all facets of the medical school campus: faculty, administration, civil service, human resources and learners.

In 2012 the name of the group was officially changed to the SIU UNITY COUNCIL, to better express its mission.

The Unity Council’s specific roles include:

Offering direction for SIU employee and learner engagement;

Establishing communication channels to obtain suggestions for quality improvements from employees, students and faculty, and to share information and report accomplishments;

Organizing the Group Quality Award competition, an annual contest which honors a School of Medicine program or division that markedly improves the delivery of services and/or health outcomes;

Help train committee members in quality issues, team leading, team facilitation and other areas as needed.

Currently these committees pursue goals outlined by the Council. Click the group name to see photos of their recent events.

Holidays R Us
Holidays R Us functions as a morale booster team for the School. The committee creates events to involve all School employees, such as the August Hot Dog Lunch to welcome our medical students, holiday bake sales and department decorating contests.

Kids Count
The Kids Count committee sponsors the biennial ‘Take Your Child to Work Day.’ Children ages 8-13 learn about the SIU School of Medicine through entertaining speakers, tours and hand-on activities. The program showcases the various ways our employees help fulfill the School’s missions of education, patient care, research and community service.

SIU Get Fit ‘N’ Healthy
SIU Get Fit ‘N’ Healthy was formed to develop an employee wellness program to promote health including physical fitness, exercise, nutrition, weight loss and smoking cessation. The committee has held school-wide fitness walks, weight loss competitions, and manages a walking/exercise program that provides incentives for participants. Visit their website for more information at: http://intranet.siumed.edu/gf.

SIUnity
SIUnity was formed to develop ways for the School and its clinics to function more as a ‘unit.’ The committee organizes the Group Quality Award competition (see above) and plans the SIUnity Fair, which brings employees together from all areas of the campus. The event has expanded from a breakfast gathering to include health screenings, department program displays, medical and community organizations and both hospitals.

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Would you like to discuss a personnel improvement opportunity that’s being missed? Got an idea for a program? Want to help on a Council committee? The Unity Council welcomes fresh ideas and enthusiasm in the workplace! Contact Sandy Dennis (545-5770, sdennis@siumed.edu) to learn more. For a small investment of time, your actions can make SIU an even better place to work.